“It was an easy choice for me” – Dusan Vlahovic aims ‘winning mentality’ dig at Arsenal after joining Juventus

Dusan Vlahovic said he was proud to join a team with a "winning mentality" after sealing a move to Juventus in a thinly veiled dig at Arsenal. The Gunners were also in the race to sign the Serbian ace but were beaten by the Serie A giants to his signature.

The 22-year-old completed a staggering £66 million switch to Turin from Fiorentina in the dying stages of the January transfer window. With 20 goals in all competitions this season, Vlahovic had alerted several top sides with his blistering goalscoring prowess.

Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City were all rumored to be interested but Arsenal seemingly led the race before Juventus entered the bidding war.

In his first interview with the club, he expressed his satisfaction at joining Massimiliano Allegri's side, saying:

"There were lot of rumours about clubs from abroad… but it was an easy choice for me [to sign for Juventus]. This club has winning mentality, like me. I’m extremely happy - I’m joining a glorious club and this is what I wanted. I can’t wait."

There were reports that Arsenal even had their bid accepted by La Viola and it was then left up to the player to decide. But the striker opted against a north London transfer and chose to remain in the Italian top-flight by moving to Juventus instead.

He also praised their attitude to keep fighting until the last minute and pledged to give his best shot in their fabled colors.

“Juventus represents pride, tradition, family. Juventus are always there until the last minute, they never give up. The team always comes first, I am at the disposal of the coach and my teammates, who I will try to help in the best way possible."

“We always want more, and we want to improve in the future. Today is my birthday, which is really wonderful, a special day for me. This is one of the happiest birthdays I’ve experienced so far. I want to make Juventus proud. We will always fight for all goals, as they say, fino alle fine,” he added.

Arsenal were the big losers in the winter transfer market

Vlahovic wasn't the only one that got away from Arsenala as the Gunners failed to get Alexander Isak and Arthur Melo despite both players heavily linked with the side.

Samuel Umtiti was also on their radar but talks fell apart after the Frenchman sustained a foot injury last month that ruled him out for three months. His Barcelona team-mate Ousmane Dembele was another player the Gunners were open to signing but he ended up staying at Camp Nou.

The only good thing that happened to the Gunners was that they were able to let Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang depart the club. The striker had fallen out of favor with Arteta after a disciplinary breach in December and was even stripped of the club captaincy.